Baby Steps
by whitetiger91
Summary: Mothers-in-law are always hard to get along with, but when it comes to Narcissa Malfoy, Astoria has her work cut out.


**Baby Steps**

"I'm thinking some a little more modern perhaps. Cedric was my grandfather's name and my father's middle name, so that might work, but I'm not opposed to Michael or Zachery or perhaps even Justin," Astoria said. She rubbed her stomach, a small smile on her face. Her little man was kicking again, letting her know that it was almost time. "He certainly feels like a Justin right now—not very patient at all.

Daphne smiled. "I like Justin," her sister said. "It's different."

The blonde's approval was echoed by the other women gathered in the room, who nodded and murmured their appreciation of the name. Draco's aunt Andromeda leant forward on the sofa, and said, "Justin was the name of two Byzantine Emperors. I believe it means 'just', and from what I have seen lately, I have every faith he will live up to it, too, by being raised by the two of you."

Astoria smiled at Draco, who squeezed her hand, before turning it upon Andromeda. The witch had always been supportive of her relationship with her nephew and had been the first to congratulate her on her pregnancy. It was for her in particular that both she and Draco had continued doing whatever it took to fix the mistakes of the past, despite the resistance of a few people who believed that her husband could never change his ways.

Draco leant over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She felt her cheeks warm under his touch, especially as a few of their guests chuckled.

Only one person didn't seem to approve of the gesture; a snort interrupted the moment, and Astoria turned towards its source.

Narcissa took court of the room, sitting in a high-backed armchair usually reserved for her husband. A glass of champagne was in her hand, and as Draco also turned towards her, she took a sip.

"Is something wrong, Mother?" he asked. His voice was smooth and calm, but Astoria could see the irritation etched on his face.

Narcissa swallowed what was left in her flute, and placed the glass on the coffee table in front of her. "No, nothing is wrong, dear. I'm just a little confused as to what is wrong with a traditional name?" she said, turning her grey eyes to Astoria.

Astoria's smile faltered, and she found herself wanting to turn her gaze away from the woman. Still, she knew that it was the height of rudeness to do so, and although the room had gone silent at the question, she couldn't leave it unanswered.

"Nothing's wrong with tradition," she said, fixing a smile on her face. "I—we—just thought it would be nice to give our little guy a name that will be like those of his future friends."

"Oh? You don't want your son to stand out? To be proud of the origin of his name, of his family?"

If it weren't for the hand Draco laid upon her shoulder, Astoria would have left the room then and there. Unlike her sister, Narcissa never approved of their marriage. She would often call upon Daphne's former friend Pansy Parkinson whenever Astoria and Draco visited her at Malfoy Manor, inviting the witch over to dine with them. It was no secret that Pansy had been involved in a relationship with Draco during their school years—Daphne had told her as much when Astoria and Draco had first started dating. Thanks to Narcissa's constant hints to Pansy's status as 'single' over dinner, it was also no secret that she had wished that Draco had married the brunette instead.

Pansy was the perfect Pureblood witch and always had been. She was always proper and polite. Although her family had been just as neutral in the war as the Greengrasses had been, Pansy's father had advocated for Lucius to receive a lesser sentence in Azkaban. Narcissa couldn't seem to let go of the fact that Mr Parkinson's daughter wasn't on Draco's mind anymore.

"Our son will stand out on his own merit, Mother. People will love him regardless of his name," Draco said.

"Here, here," Mrs Greengrass said, lifting her own champagne flute in the air. Her hand faltered as Narcissa pursed her lips and turned her cold gaze to her instead, but as everyone else picked up their glasses, she had no choice but to continue the toast. "To the newest addition to our family."

"To little Justin," everyone chorused, and the sound of clinking crystal filled the room.

Astoria looked away from Narcissa and refocused on her stomach. The baby was kicking again, almost as though he were following his grandmother's lead and objecting to the name. She placed her hands on him, rubbing soothing circles on her stomach. No, he wasn't objecting; he was letting her know that he was with her, no matter what she decided.

* * *

"Did you have a good time today?" Draco asked. Rolling over, he pressed a kiss to her lips and pointed his wand at the candle by his bed. " _Nox._ "

Astoria felt around the table on her side for her own wand. When she found it, she pointed it where she believed the closest candle was and lit it. Then, turning to her husband, she watched as he squeezed his eyes against the sudden light.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said.

She waited for him to open his eyes again. He seemed to take his time, almost as though he was hoping that she would think he had miraculously fallen asleep within that minute. Nevertheless, he eventually did peer at her and gave her a small smile. "Mmm?"

Astoria sighed and gripped the edge of her blanket. Rubbing it between her fingers, she fixed him with a level gaze. "Why does your mother still not like me? Have I done something wrong?"

Draco took a deep breath and sat up. Flicking his wand at his own candle again, he patted her hand. "My mother likes you well enough. It's nothing personal, she just has a hard time letting anyone new in."

"I'm not new though. We've been together for over five years now, and yet she still treats me like I'm some… some hussy who's taken the place of her beloved Pansy."

The blond chuckled, but when he saw her face, he stopped. "I promise you, my mother did not want me to marry Pansy."

Astoria withdrew her hand from his grip and folded her arms. "Then why is she always going about how 'poor Pansy has never found the right man and now doesn't have a chance' whenever we're around?"

"You're not jealous, are you?" Draco said, the smile still on his face.

He went to press a kiss on her nose, but she ducked her head away. Sighing, he reached for her hand again and stared into her eyes. She wanted to look away, but found herself, as usual, unable to resist looking into his silver orbs.

"Look, Mother only ever mentions Pansy because she wants me to find her a husband. Neither Theodore nor Blaise will go there, and although both Pansy and Vincent detest each other, my mother is under the illusion that they would make the perfect couple," he said.

Astoria raised an eyebrow. His mother was making Draco find a husband for Pansy? Why couldn't the woman do it herself? And why did she always have to bring it up during mealtimes?

As if sensing her doubt, Draco continued. "When my mother asked, I told her that none of my friends would go within 5 metres of Pansy after school days spent with her. You know her, though, she wouldn't accept that Pansy was that bad and stopped speaking to me until I would help her."

"And that was a bad thing?" Astoria mumbled.

"Pardon?"

Astoria ignored him. "That may be so, but that does not explain why she hates me so much—and don't you dare say that she doesn't hate me. We both know how she acts around me. Today of all days, especially, going on about what we're going to name _our_ baby when the day was supposed to be a celebration. She ruined it for me.

"I'm pretty sure if something happened to me, she would be the first to pop open the wine."

It was Draco's turn to pull his hands away. He raked a hand through his hair before dropping it onto the bed. Astoria knew that he loved his mother more than anything, and hearing any word against her was hard for him. Even so, if he so much as dared defend her after knowing what she was like, she would not hesitate in pushing him out of the bed.

When he finally spoke again, he locked eyes with her once more. "Look, there is no excuse for how she acts around you—I have noticed it."

Astoria nodded. "Exactly."

She narrowed her eyes as he opened his mouth to continue, the hidden warning to drop it from there ignored.  
"But, but you do need to realise something. No, no, just listen for a moment—" she had made to turn the other way, and if it wasn't for her swollen body, she would have been quicker in doing so. "—there is more to her. In the last few years, my mother has lost a lot. And I know, I know, it's not your fault at all; you had nothing to do with it."

Astoria sighed again. "Obviously."

"But you must understand, everything she has ever known has been taken away from her. My father is serving time in the new Azkaban for being a Death Eater and she's only ever allowed to visit him if he's behaved inside—and knowing my father and his insistence that he still be treated like a king, that's not often. Her sister was killed along with her niece and nephew-in-law, and although Bellatrix was a tad insane, my mother still loved her very much.

"Sure, she has reconnected with her other sister and Teddy, but her only other family members are also long gone. The Blacks are no more, and now she's of the mindset that you've taken me away from her," he said.

"That's ridiculous," Astoria said.

Even as she said it, however, she knew it really wasn't. Narcissa had no right to blame her for taking her son away, not when she constantly made every effort to include her in different events. In fact, she and Draco always accepted her invitation to spend Christmas day with her, even if it meant that Astoria would only see her own family on Christmas Eve.

Still, she could understand how Narcissa might have been feeling. If she had ever lost Daphne, her parents, or even Draco, she would not know what to do. She would probably cling to her son and pray that he would never leave her, no matter how old he got. She'd like to think that she would always accept his future girlfriends—or boyfriends, if it came to that—but wasn't that what all girls said before they became mothers? That they would never turn out like their parents and raise their children differently?

"Please, don't be too upset with her," Draco said. "She just needs more time than everyone else. I'm sure in no time she'll prove how much she loves you—and that's a lot."

Astoria took a deep breath. How much longer could she wait for Narcissa to thaw out? What more could she possibly do to prove to her that she wanted a good relationship with her? That she wasn't trying to take her place in Draco's heart?

"Alright, alright. I will give her some more time," she said.

Draco smiled. Leaning over, he brushed her hair off her forehead and placed a kiss on top. "That's my girl," he said. Then, looking down at her stomach, he added, "Goodnight, little Justin."

As he flicked off the lights once more, an idea came to Astoria. Perhaps there was one more thing she could do that wouldn't impact them too much, but would mean a great deal to Narcissa.

* * *

"Oh honey, you did very well," Astoria's mother cooed. She held her grandson in her arms, rocking him up and down. "He looks just like his father."

Astoria smiled up at Draco. It was true; although her son hadn't much hair, he had the same beautiful grey eyes as his father. The latter still had tears in his eyes, and he wiped them on his sleeve as he looked towards the door.

Narcissa was standing just inside it, a small smile on her face. She had been there since just after the birth, when the other relatives were allowed into the room. Unlike Astoria's own mother, however, she had remained where she stood, observing at a distance. She had smiled at Astoria once or twice, but it was not one that quite matched her eyes, nor one as big as the smile she had given to Draco.

"Are we allowed to give a toast now?" Daphne asked.

She had been standing to the side of the bed, waiting to pop open the bottle of Goblin-brewed champagne she had been reserving for such an occasion. The Mediwitch presiding over Astoria's care had scolded the blonde for bringing it inside, but since the old witch was not in the room, Daphne's impatience was growing.

"I think we can," Astoria said.

She didn't feel like having a drink, let alone eating, but she couldn't deny her sister—not when the girl was genuinely happy to welcome Astoria's son into the world. She would celebrate later when she was less exhausted.

Daphne clapped her hands and, with a flourish, unstoppered the cork lid. White, creamy liquid flowed over the bottle's edge, and Daphne quickly poured it into several glasses. She handed one to each of the room's occupants, save for their father who was already snoozing in the guest seat. The man had been up all night waiting to relay any news to the family.

Astoria accepted a glass, purely to join in on the toast. Draco gripped her hand, holding his own glass in the air.

"To baby Justin," Daphne said, raising her glass.

Before anyone could clink glasses, however, Astoria interrupted. "Actually, we have decided on a different name after all," she said, squeezing Draco's hand. Draco squeezed it back, smiling in approval, and she turned her gaze to Narcissa. With a smile, she said, "We've decided to call our son Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy."

For a moment, no one spoke, probably absorbing the news.

Her mother made the first move. "Oh, that's a lovely name, dear. Why the change?"

Astoria smiled, still looking at Narcissa. "Well, I figured I'd like to honour Dad by including his name in the middle. But I also thought there was nothing wrong with tradition, and after a little help looking at my old Astronomy notes and star gazing, I—we, decided Scorpius was the perfect fit."

Narcissa's smile had grown, and tears were now welling up in her eyes.

"I think it's wonderful," Daphne said. She clinked her glass to her mother's. "To Scorpius, and to family."

"To Scorpius and family," everyone echoed.

Astoria lifted her flute towards Narcissa, who lifted her own up and dipped her head. As everyone took a sip and returned to fussing over Scorpius, Narcissa mouthed, 'thank you.'

She gave her a quick nod in return before Draco pulled her into a hug. She knew that she and Narcissa still had a long way to grow in their relationship, but seeing the smile on the woman's face, she knew she had made the right, first step.

* * *

 _ **A/N: This story was written for the lovely Kat (roseusvortex). Why? Well, simply for being an amazing friend! thank you for always being there for me &hearts **_


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